UPDATE: Obama Admin Demands More Info From BP

8th Jul 2010 18:57

(Updates with additional details from the letter) By Jared A. Favole Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Obama administration is demanding BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) provide the federal government with more information about its plans to stanch the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as cleanup efforts reach a critical stage with the peak of hurricane season looming. The government wants updated timelines about when relief wells and other oil-response efforts will be complete, according to a letter sent Thursday to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley by Thad Allen, who is coordinating the federal response to the oil catastrophe. BP is considering replacing a damaged well-cap with a newly designed one to better plug the mile-deep well, which is spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil daily off the Louisiana coast. There are risks to this plan, including that it may not work and will increase the rate of oil gushing out in the short run. Allen said the government wants to ensure BP has contingency plans in case this move fails or hurricanes thwart response efforts. "We are entering a critical stage in the Deepwater Horizon response where key decisions will be made," Allen said in the letter, referring to the name of the sunken oil rig that exploded in April. He added, "Those decisions also overlap with predictions for an active storm and hurricane season in the region, already impacting response efforts." Allen said the government wants the answers in 24 hours. Allen also wants an updated plan for how BP will maximize clean-up efforts, including skimming and burning the oil. BP and the government have struggled with clean-up efforts in recent weeks as weather created rough seas. -By Jared A. Favole, Dow Jones Newswires; 202.862.9256; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 08, 2010 13:57 ET (17:57 GMT)